Garment hanger cover



Dec. 12, .1950 M. G. WORDINGHAM GARMENT HANGER COVER 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 2, 1949 MM/V ADHERENCE D 1950 M. G. WOIRDINGHAM 6 GARMENT HANGER COVER Filed Dec. 2, 1949 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 f5 51.112551 mrizzzflzam if MM Dec. 12, 1950 M. G. WORDINGHAM GARMENT HANGER COVER 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Dec. 2, 1949 ini Patented Dec. 12, 1950 UNITED STATES TENT OFFICE GARMENT HANGER COVER Application December 2, 1949, Serial No. 130,769

'7 Claims. 1

This invention relates to garment hangers and refers more particularly to envelope-like covers of paper or the like forcommercial wire garment hangers.

The wellknown'triangular wire garment hanger, in'commonuse'in'the dry'cleaning industry, has relatively thin garment supporting members which, because"oitlieir'small areas, frequently crease the shoulders ofgarments carried by them. This is particularly true in the case of relatively lightweight garments, which are most susceptible to creasing and wrinkling; Theweight of the garment insuch cases is often sufficient to draw itsshoulder portions tightly down over the shoul der supporting members of the hanger; and because'the latter are only asmall fraction'oi an inch in diameter they providerelatively'sharp edges which, after a time, sufiiciently deform'the shoulder portions'of the supported garment to 1eave-an objectionable crease or wrinklea'long the top -of the shoulder.

While the obvious remedy forthis resides-in the provision of shoulder supporting portions havinggreater area (i. e;, greater width) to preclude suchlocalization of stresseson the fabric,

the only heretofore available garment hangers having such=supportingsurfaces have-been those made of wood or plastic, which are prohibitively expensive for use by dry-cleaning establishments.

It is' therefore anob'je'ct of this invention to provide inexpensive means-which will in effect providea wire garment hanger with widened shoulder supporting: portions'having substantial area: and forming supporting surfaces, rather than supporting edges, for the shoulder portions of garmentsto be carried by the hanger.

Since. commercial wire garment hangers are necessarily produced to meet-a lowselling price,-

theyare often coated withan inferior galvanized or enamel coating which may become soiled and which does not for long prevent rusting of the wire, sothat spotsand stains may be left ongarments supported onthem. It is therefore anotherobject of: this invention to provide: a garment hanger cover. which may be inexpensively fabricated from paper orth'e-like and" which will protect garments supported on 1 such r wire hangers froni contact'with the metal thereof, th'erebyprecluding the possibility of Ithe hanger leaving rust or soiled spots on" the garment.

Another object ofthis invention residesin the provision-of aninexpensivegarment hanger cover of the character described which may be quickly and-easily appliedtoa triangular wirega'rment hanger and which will effectivelywiden the downwardly diverging garment supporting surfaces thereof to thus prevent the hanger from leaving creases or hanger marks in'the shoulders of a garment carried thereon.

Still another object of this invention resides in the provision of a garment hanger cover of the character described which is capable of securely resisting displacement oil a wire garment hanger which it covers althoughheld in place only by a few relatively small patches of adhesive boating.

With the above and other objects in view, which Will appear as the description proceeds, this invention resides in the novel construction and arrangement of parts substantially as hereinafter described, and more particularly defined by the appended claims, it being understood that such changes in the precise embodiment of the hereinafter disclosed invention may be made as come within the scope of the claims.

The accompanying drawings illustrate one or more complete examples of the physical embodiment of the invention constructed in accordance with the best modes so far devised for the practical application of the principles thereof, and in which:

Figure l is an elevationalview of a cover of this invention installed on a wire garment hanger;

Figure 2 is a plan view of the blank from which the cover of Figure 1 is formed;

Figure 3-is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 1;

Figure 4-is an enlarged fragmentarysectional view taken on the line di of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is an elevational view similar to Figure 1 but showing a modified embodiment of the cover, one of the lower corner sections of the cover being shown broken away;

Figure 6 is a-plan view of the blank from which the cover in Figure 5is adapted to be formed;

Figure 7 is a view similar to Figure l but showing another embodiment of the cover of this invention;

Figure 8 is aplan view of the blank from which the Figure '7 cover is adapted to be formed;

Figure 9 is a view similar to Figure 1 but showing still another'modification of the cover of this invention;

Figure 10 is a plan view of the blank from which the Figure 9 cover is formed;

Figure 11 shows a further embodiment of the cover of this invention applied to a garment hanger; and

Figure 12 is awplan view of the blank from Which the Figure 11 cover isformed.

Referring now particularly to the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals designate like parts throughout the several views, the numeral 5 desigates generally a commercial wire garment hanger, the garment supporting portion of which is a triangular structure comprising a stretcher bar or cross bar 6, defining the base of the triangle, and a pair of downwardly divergent members or arms 7 connected to the ends of the cross bar, each intended to support one of the shoulders of a garment to be carried by the hanger. At the apex of the triangle the downwardly divegent members I are twisted together to form a throat section 8, and the wire which forms one of the members extends upwardly a substantial distance beyond the other and is bent in a curve to provide a hook 9 by which the hanger may be hung from any con venient support.

The garment hanger cover of this invention, designated generally by H], is preferably formed from a single sheet of paper or similar pliable material and encloses all of the metal portions of the hanger, when installed thereon, except the projecting throat ii and hook 9. In outline the blank i i from which the cover is formed is sub stantially an irregular pentagon. For the sake of simplicity, however, it may be considered as comprising a substantially triangular body section [2 and a pair of triangular flaps l3 extending upwardly from the body section. The body section i2 corresponds in shape to the triangular garment supporting portion of a wire garment hanger adapted to be covered by the blank but is larger than said triangular garment supporting portion. it has a straight bottom edge i l, but preferably the bottom corners l5 are rounded as in Figures 2, l and 12, or otherwise trimmed as at E in Figures 6 and 8.

The flaps it extend upwardly from the triangular body section l2, one on each side of the vertical center line thereof. Each of these flaps is fofdable downwardly over the member '5 of the garment hanger, with the junction of the fiap and body section or fold it parallel to and spaced slightly above the said member, and with the outer edge IQ of the flap brought down to coincide with the straight bottom edge i l of the triangular body section. The center line it of the fold iii of each flap l3 may be considered as defining one of the upper edges of the triangular body section and the coterminous base edge of the flap extending therefrom, but it is important to note that this line does not correspond to a clearly defined crease since the fold it should be a relatively wide curve or roil, as seen in Figure 3, having a much greater radius than the downwardly divergent member 5 of the hanger which it loosely embraces. This curve will provide a relatively wide supporting surface for the shoulder portion of a garment to be carried by the hanger, which surface, because it is much greater in supporting area than the thin wire member 7?, and because it has no sharp edges or corners, will have no tendency to leave a crease or wrinkle in even the sheerest garment.

Attention is directed to the fact that in the blank, the combined height of the body section it and flap is, measured transversely to the line ill, will at any point be more than twice the distance from the stretcher or cross bar E5 of a garment hanger to the downwardly divergent member 2' thereof, measured at a corresponding point on the garment'hanger. This enables the fold it to have a relatively wide curve and enadhesive.

ables the cover to be applied with the curved fold it loosely embracing the member 7. The entire cover must be restrained against downward displacement with respect to the hanger to retain the curved portion It in the position described, and to this end the lower marginal edge portions of the cover cooperate with the hanger cross bar in a manner to be described presently.

The outer corner 26 of each flap i3 is rounded to coincide with the rounded outer corner of the body section of the blank, as shown in Figure 2, or it may be trimmed at an angle to the edge of the flap (i. e., cut off straight and perpendicular to the straight bottom edge M of the body portion) as at 20 in Figure 8. In any event, the

urpose of so rounding or otherwise trimming the outer corners of the body section and flaps of the cover blank is to provide the formed cover with blunt outer corners as at 2! (Figure l) which will not project sharply into the outer shoulder portions of the garments supported on the hanger, as would be the case if the corners were not so trimmed.

The inner corners 22 of the flaps l3 may also be rounded, and are separated from one another by a vertical slot 23, the width of which is slightly greater than the width of the throat portion 8 a of the hanger. When the triangular flaps [3 are folded into position the slot 23 forms an aperture 23 through which the throat portion of the hanger projects.

It will be seen that when the flaps [3 of the cover blank are rolled or folded about the lines ll, the blank forms an envelope-like cove forv a garment hanger, completely enclosing the triangular garment supporting structure thereof, and the inner marginal edge portions 25 of the two triangular flaps l3 overlap one another along the vertical center-line of the envelope and cooperate to provide, in eifect, a front wall for the envelope. The garment supporting portion of the hanger is enclosed between this front wall and the body section of the blank, which provides a unitary rear wall for the envelope, and the two walls are connected with one another by the curved fold portions I6, which loosely embrace the downwardly divergent members 1 of the hanger to provide rounded shoulder supports.

The outer marginal portions which lie adjacent to the edges IQ of the flaps may be secured to the lower marginal edge portion of the'body section of the blank, which they overlie, in any suitable manner. Preferably, however, certain zones on the blank are coated with a suitable The best substance for this purpose is a cohesive, such as the type made of rubber, which has the desirable property that a surface coated therewith will adhere only to another surface which is so coated. The cover blank of this invention lends itself especially well to the use of a cohesive, since all of the adhesions required to form the completed envelope can be readily achieved when all of the coated zones are located on the'same face of the blank. Hence, cover blanks of this invention provided with pressure sensitive cohesives may be readily shipped and stored in the flat in stacks having the cohesive coated surfaces all facing in the same direction, without danger of the several blanks adhering to one another at the coated patches.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in Figures 1 and 2 a central zone 28 of the bottom marginal edge portion of'the body section of the blank is coated with pressure sensitive cohesive, and a zone 29 at the apex or outer corner of each,

flaptrianglel3 is likewise so coated. When these flaps are folded into position, with their outer marginal edge portions flatwise overlying the bottom marginal edge portion of the body section, the contactingcohesive coated areas securely adhere to one another. The coated zones are so disposed that the flaps 13 will flatwise adhere to the body :section in areas both above and below the stretcher bar -6 of the garment hanger (see Figure 4;), and immediately adjacent thereto, so that the adhered portions of the envelope wall snugly embrace the stretcher bar and cooperate with one another and with the stretcher bar to preclude both upward and downward displacement of the envelope withrespect to the garment hanger. Hence, these zones must include a coated area on the body sectionextending a substantial distance inwardly from the bottom edge thereof and :beyond the location of the stretcher 'bar of thehanger when the same is in place in the cover. As pointed out above, downward displacement of the cover would permit the curved top wall l6 of the envelope to hug the member 'I of the hanger, so that the advantage of the wide garment supporting surface afforded by the curved top wall would be lost; while upward displacement of the .cover would, of course, permit it to become separated from the hanger.

The cover of Figures 1 and 2 is satisfactory for most purposes and is simple and inexpensive to produce. However, the overlapping edge portions of the flaps l 3 merely flatwise overlie one another, being kept in place by the securement of their adhesive coated corners to the coated portion along the bottom marginal'edge of the blank.

In the modification illustrated in Figures 5 and 6, provision is made for more positively holding the flaps l3 in'place on .the bodysection l2 and against accidental separation of the flaps along the vertical center zone of the envelope. This is accomplished by cutting out or notching the corner of one of the flaps H3, as at 30, with the result that a larger area of the corner of the other flap adheres to the coated zone at the bottom of the body section and the unsecured flap area is .thus relatively smaller.

In .the modified cover and blank of Figures 5 and provision is also made for positively precluding displacementof the cover in any direction with respect to the hanger. For this purpose, the opposit sides of the blank are provided with straight edges 2i perpendicular to its lower edge itandextending. straight up from said lower edge to .theiouter edges lid of the triangular flaps.

Because of these straight sideaedges 21, the body section of the blank is formed-with the hereinbefore mentioned square corners IS. .A substantially square area 35 at each outer corner of the body section is coated with pressure sensitive cohesive material so that the corner may be folded uponitself along the line 3|, at an angle of about @Ehandaround the outer corner of the triangle structure of the hangen as at 32, to thus provide acorner pocket in which each of the outer ends of th hanger isreceived. In applying this modifiedcoverto agarmenthanger, the operation of folding this corner pocket will of course'precede the "folding of the flaps H3. The corner pockets so -formed will cooperate with the projection of the hanger throat 3 through the slot 23 to positively preclude displacement of the coverin any direction with respect to the hanger.

The modification shown inFigures 7 and 8 features a cover in which'the adhesive coatings are used in an extremely economical manner. Only a relatively :shortzone 33 along the bottom marginal edge of thebodysection and relatively small areas -3dl:attheapexes of the triangular flaps are coated with cohesive material. One of the flaps 2 l3 isprovided'with'an aperture :35 near its apex. In-applying this cover to a garment hanger the apertured flap 2 it is'iirstlfolded .into'place andlits apex pressed into .flatwise engagement with the coatedportion onthe lower marginal edge of the bodysection and-around the stretcher bar of the hanger, to secure thecoated .zones 33 and 34 to one another. The other flap I3 is then folded into ;place overlapping the apertured flap. The cohesive coating-.atthe apex of theflap l3adheres to the coating on the body :portion through the aperture '35 to *thus securely hold down the unaperturedfiap. Inthis embodiment, the flap 2l3 cooperates with the cross bar of the hanger to preclude downward displacement of the cover with respect to the hanger.

In the modification of Figures 9 and .10 the adhesive-coating at the bottom center of thebody covers only a relatively narrow vertical Zone 31 and the entire inner marginal edge portion 25 of one of the flaps i3 is coated on the same surface of the sheet asxthe bottom patch. The other flap iii has its marginal inner edgeportion'25 so coated, but on :the opposite surface of the blank, and the latter .iiapis provided with a notch Liiin its apex similar to that in the Figures fi and 6 embodiment. In applying the cover of the Figures 9 tand 1o embodiment to a garment hanger, the fiap .3l3 having the pressure sensitive cohesive coating on its rear surface isfirst folded into place. When :the other .iiap I3 is folded down, its innermarginal edg overlies that-of flap 3l3, as in the other embodiments, but because in this instance two cohesively coatedsurfaces flatwise adjoin one another, the inner marginal edge of the flap i3 Willibe fastened securely to that of the flap Bit, except in the vicinity of the notch or cutout 3b, where it will adhere directly to the adhesive zone 2? on the bodyportion of the blank; and since thenotch is so disposed that its cutout portion lies mostly below the stretcher bar of the hanger whentheifiap 353 is in place, securement of the flap i3 to the body portion will preclude upward aswell as downward displacement of the cover, as in the previously described embodiments.

The Figures 11 and i2 embodimentof the cover of thisinvention likewise provides for substantial securement of overlapping inner marginal edges of the flaps i3 at the frontof the envelope, but

without necessitating the application of a coating to one of the flaps. In this case, the inner marginal edge portion of one flap i3 is coated with cohesive, as in the Figures 9 to 10 cover blank while the inner marginal edge of the other flap M3 is provided with a series of spaced apertures 39 substantially parallel to said edge. The zone 40 of coatingon the bodyportion extends upwardly a considerably greaterdistance than in the Figures 9 and 10 cover, however, nearly to the notch 23. In this embodiment, also, anotch 391s provided at the apex of the flap M3 and serves the same purpose as the corresponding notch in the previously described modifications. In applying the cover of this embodiment the apertured flap i 3 is first folded into place, and subsequent folding of the flap it enables its coated surface to be fiatwise adhered tothe coated zone 48 of the body portion throughthe apertures 39 of the flap 413, thereby securely retaining the flap M3 in place at the same time that the flap i3 is secured to the body section of the cover. It will be seen that this arrangement also positively precludes both upwardand'downward displacement of the cover with respect to the hanger through cooperation between the adhered portions of the flap l3 and body section l2 with the hanger cross bar 6.

' From the foregoing description, taken together with the accompanying drawings, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that this invention provides an envelope-like cover for wire garment hangers which may be readily applied to such hangers to completely enclose the wire garment supporting structure of the same and thus prevent any possibility of the metal of such hangers soiling garments carried thereby, and moreover, provides relatively wide supporting surfaces for the shoulders of garments intended to be carried on such hangers, to thereby preclude the possibility of the shoulder portions of the garments being wrinkled or creased by the garment supporting members of the hangers.

.What I claim as my invention is:

l. A cover for a wire garment hanger of the type having a garment supporting portion defined by downwardly divergent members connected by a'horizontal cross bar, and a hook at the apex of the members, said cover comprising: a single sheet of paper having portions to extend continuously from below the cross bar of a wire garment hanger, upwardly across one side of the hanger and in a relatively wide curve (in cross section) around each of the downwardly divergent members of the hanger and down the other side of the hanger, the length of each of said portions being at any point greater than twice the distance between the cross bar and the downwardly divergent member at the corresponding point on the hanger so that said curved cross section extends along the length of the downwardly divergent member and has substantial radius at all points therealong; and means on said portions of the sheet for securing the sheet flatwise to itself in zones directly above the cross bar, so that said secured zones will cooperate with the cross bar to retain the sheet against downward displacement with respect thereto and to retain the sheet so curved around the downwardly'divergent member of the hanger as to provide a garment shoulder supporting area of substantial widthl 2. A cover for a wire garment hanger of the type having a triangular garment supporting portion defined by downwardly divergent arms connected by a horizontal cross bar, and a hook at the junction of the arm said cover comprising: a blank of pliable sheet material providing a substantially triangular body section larger than the garment supporting portion of the hanger, and a pair of flaps integral with the body section and extending upwardly therefrom, one on each side of the vertical center line of the body section, 7

each flap being foldable over one of the downwardly divergent arms of the hanger into superimposed relation with the adjacent portion of the body section, said flaps being or" a size such that the outer portions thereof can be disposed over the lower portion of the body section below the cross bar of the hanger while the junctions of the flaps and body section loosely embrace the divergent arms of the hanger to provide rounded shoulder supporting portions; and means for fiatwise securing the outer portion of each flap to the underlying portion of the blank at an area above the cross bar of the hanger but closely adjacent thereto so that said securement of the flaps may be: efiected without creasing the junctions of the flaps 'and'body section which loosely embrace'the downwardly divergent arms of the hanger. a

3. The hanger cover blank of claim 2 wherein the blank is provided with means for securing the spaced above and parallel to said downwardly divergent arms of the hanger,

4. A cover for a wire garment hanger of the type having a triangular garment supporting portion defined by downwardly divergent arms connected by a horizontal cross bar, and a hook at the junction of said arms, said cover comprising: a blank of pliable sheet material providing a substantially triangular body section similar in shape but larger than the triangular garment supporting portion of the hanger so as to completely overlie the garment supporting portion at one side thereof, and a pair of substantially triangular flaps integral with the body section and extending upwardly therefrom, one on each side of the vertical center line of the body section, said flaps being foldable over the downwardly divergent arms of the hanger into superimposed relation with the body section to provide rounded shoulder supporting portions at the junctions of the flaps with the body section which loosely embrace .the downwardly divergent arms of the hanger, said flaps being of a size and shape such that when folded over the divergent arms of the hanger their outer ends can extend below the cross bar of the hanger to the bottom edge of the body section without drawing the rounded shoulder supporting portions taut over the downwardly divergent arms of the hanger; and cooperating meanson the body section and the flaps for attaching the outer portions of the flaps to the lower portion of the body section at zones immediately above and below the cross bar of the hanger to thereby secure the cover in place on the hanger with said shoulder supporting portions loosely embracing the divergent arms of the hanger.

5. Means providing a rounded shoulder supporting surface for the garment supporting portionof a triangular wire garment hanger defined by downwardly divergent arms connected by a horizontal cross bar, said means comprising: a pliable sheet bent to a substantially u-shaped cross section with the curved base of the U positioned over one ofthe downwardly divergent arms of the hanger and extending along the length cf the arm, the legs of the U extending downwardly below the horizontal cross bar of the hanger and lying at opposite sides thereof; and areas of pressure sensitive cohesive on the inner surfaces of the lower portions of said legs adhered to one another immediately above the cross bar so that type having a garment supporting portion defined by downwardly divergent arms connected by a horizontal cross bar, said cover comprising: a fiat flexible sheet having a substantially triangular body section of a size and shape to completely overlie one side of the garment supporting portion of the hanger, and having a .pair of flaps integral with the body section and extending upwardly therefrom, one on each side of the vertical center line of the body section, said flaps being foldable over the downwardly divergent arms of the hanger into superimposed relation with portions of the sheet comprising the body section, and said flaps being of a size such that when so positioned over the body section with the outer portions of the flaps over the portions of the body section adjacent to the cross bar of the hanger the junctions of the flaps and body section loosely embrace the divergent arms of the hanger to provide rounded shoulder supports; an area of pressure sensitive cohesive on the outer portion of each flap which lies adjacent to the cross bar of the hanger when the flaps are in superimposed relation with the body section; and areas of pressure sensitive cohesive on the portions of the sheet which said coated portions of the flaps overlie, whereby said cover may be quickly secured to the hanger by pressure confined to the portion of the cover adjacent to the cross bar to thereby obviate creasing the shoulder supporting portions of the cover.

7. A cover for a wire garment hanger of the type having a triangular garment supporting portion defined by downwardly divergent arms connected by a horizontal cross bar, and a hook at the junction of the arms, said cover comprising: a blank of pliable sheet material providing a substantially triangular body section larger than the garment supporting portion of the hanger, and a pair of flaps integral with the body section and extendingupwardly therefrom, one on each side of the vertical center line of the body section, said flaps being foldable over the downwardly divergent arms of the hanger into superimposed relation with adjacent portions of the body section; means for supporting the cover on the hanger, against downward displacement thereon, including areas of pressure sensitive cohesive on portions of the cover which lie adjacent to and above the cross bar of the hanger; and means for securing the flaps in superimposed relation with said adjacent portions of the body section and with the flaps loosely embracing the divergent arms of the hanger to provide rounded shoulder supports at the junctions of the flaps with the body section, said last named means comprising an area of pressure sensitive cohesive on the outer portion of each flap, and areas of pressure sensitive cohesive on the portions of the blank which said outer portions of the flaps overlie, said flap securing areas of pressure sensitive cohesive being spaced a substantial distance from the junctions of the flaps and body section, and the distance from the contacting areas of the flap securing pressure sensitive cohesive to the center lines of said junctions measured along the surface of the blank and at right angles to said line being substantially greater than the straight line distance between I said contacting areas of pressure sensitive cohesive and the upper surface of the divergent arms of the hanger when the cover is in position on the hanger.

MAURICE G. WORDINGHAM.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,741,777 Johnson Dec. 31, 1929 2,155,737 Ruen Apr. 25, 1939 2,172,206 Katz Sept. 5, 1939 2,491,896 Kestner et al Dec. 20, 1949 

